The present invention relates to a water ski tow handle assembly.
There are may different ski tow rope handle assemblies currently in use by water skiers. Representative of such water ski handles include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,585,420, Taylor; 4,540,371, Taylor; 4,335,478, Pittman; Des. 258,228, Rumbaugh; Des. 256,487, Pittman; 4,182,258, Presser; Des. 248,587, Rumbaugh; 4,060,049, Rumbaugh; 4,043,290, Holland; 3,537,418, Brownson; and, 3,092,068, Brownson.
These prior art ski tow handles, while suitable for use by water skiers, have several drawbacks. One drawback is that the water skier's safety can be compromised due to the inherent design of the prior art ski handles. Various prior art ski handle require that the water skier grasp the handle at a point immediately adjacent the exposed tow rope. The water skier may suffer rope burns or abrasions or even have his fingers entwined in the tow rope. Still other ski handles do not adequately prevent the two rope from inadvertantly slipping off the end of the handle, thereby leaving the water skier at risk when the handle separates from the two line. Still other ski handles leave much of the tow rope exposed to harsh conditions such as abrasion, fraying or damage due to repeated exposure to water, sunshine, oil or gasoline. These harsh conditions decrease the useful life of the tow rope.
Other drawbacks of the prior art ski handles relate to both the convenience to the manufacturer in producing and assembling the water ski handle assembly and the convenience to the water skier in using the water ski handle assembly. The various prior art ski handles require that the tow rope be circuitously bent or threaded through the handle during the assembly process thereby adding to the amount of time and labor required for manufacturing the handle assembly. Other various prior art ski handles are inconvenient to use since the hollow handles become filled with water during use and thus do not readily float on the surface of the water. In order to increase the floatability of the handles various manufacturers fill the handle with a buoyant material, which adds both time and cost to the manufacturing and assembly of the handles. Still others plug the handles with metal plugs which adds undesirable weight to the handle and which decreases the floatability of the handle. Also, the insertion of the metal plugs into the handle increases the manufacturing and assembly time required to produce the water ski handle assembly.
Thus, there is a need for a water ski tow handle assembly without the above-mentioned drawbacks which handle assembly offers both safety and convenience to the water skier and offers ease of production and assembly to the handle manufacturer. The water ski two handle assembly of the present invention is directed to these needs, as will be readily understood by referring to the specification, drawings and claims disclosed herein.